You do not have to be an avid supporter of Singapore-made films to observe this so-called trend. Locally made films have largely been divided into two basic categories: either highly commercialized fare (and usually slapstick comedy) targeting the heartlands or obscure art-house type.

If like me, you have been hoping for a change of scenery in our homegrown cinematic landscape, veteran TV director Jean Yeo has given us something to cheer about in The Leap Years.

Granted the US$2 million Mediacorp Raintree Pictures production may be as commercialized as pinstriped peppermint canes at Christmas, it does stand apart as Singapore’s first English-language romance drama. It also represents Yeo’s inauguration into Singapore’s small but growing fraternity of feature film directors. But already, her cinematic offering can be seen as a studied departure from those of her newfound peers.

Eschewing Jack Neo-styled colloquial humor for good ol’ romantic spiel – a celluloid tradition as celebrated as the yuletide festival itself – Yeo hopes to offer “a different slice of Singapore life” for local and oversea audiences.

Based on Dr Catherine Lim’s novella Leap of Love, the movie follows the forlorn love life of protagonist Li Ann (played remarkably by local thespian Wong Li-Lin) as she tackles the age-old question of whether to hold out for Mr. Right or settle for Mr. Available. In choosing the former, she has to keep a date with a man – that she hardly knows, but considers a soul mate – to meet once every leap year on the 29th February.

Movie uses ‘Real’ English

Most notably, the 70 per cent English dialogue film does not target the sizeable Mandarin-speaking audience, largely considered the box-office bedrock of Singapore films.

Says Daniel Yun, executive producer and managing director of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures:

“The movie showcases Singapore in a way I have not really seen before and the way the characters interact in ‘real’ English, as in not American British English or Singlish, is fresh and engaging to watch.”

Asked for what she thinks are TLY’s chances for survival with Singapore’s pragmatic cinema-going public, Yeo replies emphatically: “I don’t know how it will catch on, but I feel that as long as I’m presenting an honest slice of the Singapore life, why shouldn’t they identify with it?”

Lest you mistake Yeo’s candidness for that of a ditsy creative with her head in the clouds, that cannot be further from the truth. While she may be a new kid on the features block, Yeo is clearly a director who knows what she wants, and with credentials to show for.

An honors graduate of English Language and Literature at the National University of Singapore, Jean embarked on the media industry beginning a career with the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (then renamed TCS or Television Corporation of Singapore, now known as MediaCorp Pte Ltd) where she was selected to be a TV-writer even before graduation.

During her tenure at the station, Jean’s directorial portfolio included filming pilot episodes for popular local drama series @Moulmein High; Triple Nine (seasons 3 and 4); documentaries Trading Faces for The National Geographic Channel; documentary series Hey Singapore; entertainment series Gotcha; as well as variety specials for both Supermodel International and Manhunt International. Of noteworthy mention, Yeo’s directorial and script-writing abilities helped bag the top honor for Best Drama Series at the Asian Television Awards in 1999.

The following year, she founded and became creative director of Ochre Pictures, a content producing company recognized for its popular children’s programs, telemovies, prime-time drama and documentary series screened across both local and international networks.

TV reputation at stake

About four years ago, Yun offered Yeo directorship of The Leap Years. Citing Ochre’s then fledgeling business as reason, Yeo turned it down.

As did the hands of fate play a main role in the movie plot, so it did off-camera for Yeo. After Raintree had engaged another French director for the job, somehow, things did not work out, and Yeo was again propositioned about two and a half years ago.

Ironically, this time, it was her established reputation in the TV industry that became a deterrent factor.

“It became this big ego trip for me as I struggled with the offer. After all, I had an industry standing and reputation to consider. Basically, I was afraid of mucking up my feature debut! It finally took a good friend to snap me out of it.”

Once Yeo took that leap of faith, she literally became obsessed with her newfound responsibilities – making sure that everything went clockwork according to exacting standards. Safe for nine minutes of screen-time – dubbed the ‘Joan Chen parts’ – Yeo had directed the 100-minuter herself. Unbeknownst to Yeo, Raintree had invited the ethereally beautiful China-born actress for a special guest appearance in the film, playing the older Li-Ann.

Emulating Hollywood

A self-confessed perfectionist, Yeo is the consummate director who plans right down to the last letter, leaving almost nothing to chance.

“I am very big on planning. I get very upset when I don’t achieve at least 80 per cent on the set. For this movie, I achieved about 90 per cent. There was only one scene that I had to change location at the very last minute. I felt that that particular scene was not critical enough to demand a specific location, that’s when I would compromise.”

She relates another incident in which she thought a location change was out of the question.

“There was this night scene where we craned up and you could see the beautiful Singapore skyline. It was on a rooftop where we experienced a really scary freak storm that blew our tent away! But that was such an important scene that I insisted on going back.”

Unabashed about her idealistic goals to benchmark against Hollywood visuals, Yeo also insisted on utilizing Tinseltown-standard 35mm Panavision cameras for the undertaking – something unprecedented in Singapore’s nascent filming history. With Raintree’s blessings, the gutsy director not only got to work with Hollywood-level gear – that turned out to be cheaper than locally available 35mm photographic equipment – but also Hong Kong DOP Henry Chung.

With 15 years of experience as cinematographer, Chung has lensed several award-winning TVCs and films; and worked with Hong Kong’s new wave film directors Tsui Hark and Ann Hui.

“Chung and I must have watched over a hundred DVDs at my place. We were speed-scanning the scenes, searching for the kind of look and feel that I wanted. In the end, we decided on emulating the cooler tones in Great Expectations, a movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow.”

Characterizations based on real-life experience

Besides directing the film, Yeo further assumes the role of associate producer and has a hand in the final scripting and screenplay writing. Growing up in an English-speaking convent girls’ school environment, Yeo says, helps in her being able to identify intimately with the female characters that share a similar background to hers. She reveals:

“If you look at the female characters in the movie, a lot of it is based on real life and my own experiences.

“If you ask me to direct a Jack Neo type of film, I would probably make a mess of it. But drawing from my personal experiences, I feel that I can more honestly capture a slice of the Singapore life that is different, but very much out there. I can better relate to

these groups of Singaporeans and perhaps, I’m in a better position to represent them on screen. In the end, I believe that you tell the stories that you know best best.”

As a writer, she was able to ferret out the inner complexities of her characters, bringing to the fore their varied idiosyncrasies through telling dialogues and exchanges. As director, her deep understanding of each individual character also allowed her to coax nuanced and layered performances from the cast.

“There’s always a subtext to any script and I like to direct with that in mind. I went in with honest emotions. I wrote pages and pages of background stories for my script and I meet all the main actors regularly and we hold lengthy conversations about their characters. Some of the actors told me that I’ve written their characters so well that they cried. I spent days and nights mulling over the script.

“Even though many of these background stories were not part of the script, they provided the motivations behind the actual portrayals on screen.”

Preferring not to “rehearse scenes to death”, she subscribes to “a more organic way” of directing actors.

“By the time I get on set, I want minimal directing. That’s why we held over two weeks of rehearsals with different pairings, but they are not for reading lines. We talked about the motivations rather than what to do or say.”

Full of praise for her cast, Yeo remembers ‘torturing’ Wong Li-lin, the lead actress in the movie, who had just delivered her second child during the first stage of production.

“I thought I directed Li-lin very well but credit must go to her. I really tortured her, but to be fair, she was up to the torture, which must have been very hard for a new mother.”

As for the male lead – Thai actor Ananda Mathew Everingham who plays the role of ‘Jeremy’ – Yeo reveals that she had fought hard to cast the hunky model-turned-actor. The director had come across a badly lit audition clip of Everingham and was immediately captivated by his smoldering aura. Yeo beams cheekily, explaining how Ananda had won her over with that “drool factor”:

“I noticed his eyes, and I said if anybody has soulful eyes that could hook a woman and make her wait for 16 years, it’s Ananda.”

Ang Lee fan

At the risk of sounding trite, Yeo readily counts Oscar-winning director Ang Lee as “the biggest influence and inspiration to her work”. She waxes:

“I have admired Ang Lee’s films since Eat Drink Man Woman, way before his Oscar-winning days. The honesty and sensitivity of his directing, focusing on the inner actions and turmoil of the characters, the depth of the storytelling, the ability to bring out intricate and honest human emotions and relationships, are what I admire most about his direction. His films are always honest without the egotistical tendencies to enter into spectacles or dwell on beauty shots without reason. Brokeback Mountain and Lust, Caution see this skill escalate to a masterly level of directing a multitude of layers.”

Perhaps what Yeo finds most exceptional about Ang Lee films is that they somehow exist upon a sweet equilibrium between art and commerce. She muses wistfully:

“Ang Lee’s films are in equal doses critically acclaimed and commercially appealing.”

Yeo unconsciously reiterates this point when asked about her personal aspirations towards the future of Singapore films.

“We need to make more movies. Just look at Korea. They must have made thousands of movies in their forty years of filmmaking history before they were able to break into overseas markets. When you keep doing something over and again, you are bound to become better at it.

“For me, I’m just trying to fill the gap that I’ve noticed in Singapore cinema, that is commercial films with a less ‘heartlander’ approach.”

Less modest about Yeo’s abilities, Yun conjectures: “With more exposure, she can be one of the few woman directors to watch emerging from Asia.”

Although reviews of The Leap Years in the local media have been mixed, the general consensus amongst audiences at the special screenings – prior to its 29th February launch – have been more than encouraging. Optimistic about the movie’s chances, Yun reckons: “If we can hit over one million dollars in the local box office and sell the movie to various countries in Asia and pockets of Western markets, then The Leap Years will be a part of our pioneering effort to produce new creative content for export.” If focus group results are anything to go by, 70 per cent to 80 per cent among those surveyed “really liked” the film, according to Yeo.

Hopefully, the movie did more than just to fill a gap in Singapore cinema, but in so doing, resonates with a new segment of local audiences that for the first time, get to see visceral reflections of themselves, up on the big screen. Indeed, that maybe something worth waiting a leap year for.

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